Method, system and apparatus for location-aware content push service and location-based dynamic attachment

ABSTRACT

A method and system for providing location-aware and location-based content services. The system preferably comprises an overlay service network that includes a plurality of information gateway servers. A mobile client uses the servers in the overlay service network to request and receive information. The particular server used by the mobile client is selected based on the geo-location of the mobile client. The method comprises partitioning a geographic area into a plurality of sub-areas and associating resources to the sub-areas based on the location of mobile units within a sub-area.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to commonly assigned U.S. patent applicationSer. No. ______, (Attorney Docket No. TELCORDIA App. No. 1537/TELCOR1.0-007), filed on even-date herewith and entitled “Method, Apparatusand System For a Location Based Resource Locator,” the disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The Internet is a global collection of networks that provide ubiquitousaccess to various types of information and allows users to communicateover expansive geographic areas, i.e., the geography of the earth. Inthat regard, the Internet provides a convenient means for users toaccess, gather and share information. Such information is typicallystored on a collection of geographically scattered servers, whichprovide services to other machines, such as personal computers orclients and other servers, which comprise the Internet. Typically, theInternet is accessed from a web client application running on a personalcomputer, laptop, personal digital assistant or home appliance at afixed location. A fixed location may comprise, for example, a user'shome or office. More and more, however, there is a demand for contentinformation residing on the Internet in mobile applications.

In particular, an emerging need of intelligent transport systems is theability to access location-based or location-aware information in amobile environment, such as telematic applications, roadside emergencyassistance and a variety of front-seat and rear-seat applications.Telematic generally refers to onboard vehicle capability to exchangeinformation to and from mobile platforms. Users are typically more andmore demanding the capability to be able to access information while onthe go, such as from an automobile or other transportation systems. Suchtransportation systems are generally considered as a mobile platform.Applications for such mobile platforms are evolving from applications infixed location platforms. By fixed location platforms, we generallyrefer to a non-mobile environment, where devices typically communicatevia a wired connection.

These mobile platforms typically require seamless integration ofexisting applications while also require addressing problems associatedwith mobility and heterogeneous networks. Existing applicationstypically include web access, reading and sending e-mails, viewingmovies and listening to music. In addition, location-aware orlocation-based applications such as emergency notification, navigation,real-time road condition reports and location-aware advertisementinsertion exists for fixed platforms and need to be supported by mobileplatforms.

A typical problem associated with providing information to a mobiledevice is that web pages and other files are maintained by a collectionof geographically scattered servers, as discussed above. Among theseservers are a group of servers generally referred to as gateway servers,which are typically considered as network points that provide access oract as “gateways” between different networks. For example, an InternetService Provider (ISP) typically provides customer access to theInternet through one or more gateway servers. Each gateway server isassigned an Internet Protocol (IP) address and each machine on thenetwork, including servers, is also provided an IP address. Each IPaddress serves to uniquely identify each machine, i.e., servers. To makecontent searching easier and more intelligible for humans, URLs (uniformresource locators) such as www.telcordia.com, for example, are used tolocate content on the web. Behind every URL, however, is an IP addressor collection of IP addresses that uniquely identify one or more serverson the Internet. For example, the URL www.cnn.com is served by twelveservers. Typically, the content information is stored in a memory on themachine or may be located in a database or memory that is accessible bythe machine.

In contrast to a fixed-location request for content information, when amobile user requests information residing on the Internet, the locationof the user and the location of the content information may play a rolein determining how quickly the information gets routed to the user, thetype of information the user may need and the costs associated withproviding the requested content information to the user. For example, auser driving down a California highway may desire informationspecifically relating to his/her locality, e.g. the highway beingtraveled or a nearby town. Such information may comprise a local trafficcondition, a choice of local restaurants or a local weather condition. Arequest for such local information by a mobile user typically results inan untimely provision of information of relatively low value to theuser. That is, typically, the requested content information is retrievedfrom a memory or database without regard to the location of the user orthe content information. This results in a delay between when theinformation is requested and provided. The delay may result in theinformation being provided to the user after the user has left thelocality. Thus, the information would then be of relatively littlevalue. In addition, the cost of providing the information to the userwill typically increase in relation to an increase in the distancebetween the location of the user and the location of the contentinformation.

Thus, there is a need for improving the way in which a mobile useraccesses and is provided with content information residing on theInternet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the present invention is a system for providinglocation-based services. The system preferably comprises a plurality ofgateway servers distributed over a geographic area such that eachgateway server is responsible for providing services withinpre-determined areas of the geographic area and a plurality of mobiledevices that are connectable to the plurality of gateway servers basedon the location of the plurality of mobile devices within thepre-determined areas.

Further in accordance with this aspect of the present invention, thepre-determined areas are preferably formed by partitioning thegeographic area into non-overlapping sub-rectangular areas. It is alsopreferable that each of the plurality of gateway servers is associatedwith a non-overlapping sub-rectangular area.

Further still, each server may include a cache memory for storingcontent information.

Further in accordance with this aspect of the present invention, theplurality of mobile devices may be selected from the group consisting ofa cellular telephone, a laptop computer, a pager and a personal digitalassistant.

Further in accordance with this aspect of the present invention, each ofthe gateway servers are desirably coupled to one or more sources forcontent information associated with the location-based services. It isalso preferable that each of the gateway servers automatically delivercontent information from one of the content sources to the mobiledevices within the pre-determined area that the server is responsiblefor. Further still, it is preferable that the content information thatis delivered includes location information.

Further in accordance with this aspect of the present invention, it isdesirable that each mobile device that receives content informationdetermines whether to accept the content information based on thegeographic location of the mobile device. The geographic locationinformation preferably comprises position information obtained from aglobal positioning system or satellite.

In another aspect, the present invention is a method for providinginformation to a client device over a communication network. The methodpreferably comprises partitioning a geographic area covered by thenetwork into a plurality of pre-determined service areas and associatingat least one service server with a pre-determined service area. Themethod further preferably comprises directing information to or from theclient device through the service server associated with thepre-determined service area in which the client device is currentlylocated.

Further in accordance with the method, partitioning preferably comprisessegmenting the geographic area into a plurality of non-overlappingrectangular service areas.

Further in accordance with this aspect of the present invention, themethod further preferably comprises associating a service server witheach of the plurality of non-overlapping rectangular service areas.

Further in accordance with the method, directing preferably comprisesassociating a primary service server with the client device based on aresidence area associated with the client device. It is also desirablethat directing comprises associating a secondary service server with theclient device when the client device is not located within the residencearea.

Further in accordance with this aspect of the present invention,directing may desirably comprise routing information destined for theclient device through the secondary service server when the clientdevice is not located within the service area.

Further in accordance with this aspect of the present invention, themethod may further desirably comprise providing information to theclient device based on a pre-determined service area in which the clientdevice is currently located.

Further still in accordance with this aspect of the present invention,the method may further desirably comprise associating a plurality ofcontent servers with the plurality of pre-determined service areas basedon the location of the content servers.

The method may also further desirably comprise associating each of thepre-determined service with a geographic area.

Further in accordance with this aspect of the present invention, themethod may further preferably comprise providing at least one server inthe network separate from the service servers for initiating sendingcontent information to the client device.

Further still in accordance with this aspect of the present invention,the method may further desirably comprise inhibiting access to thecontent information based on the location of the client device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustratively depicts a system in accordance with an aspect ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2 illustratively depicts a system in accordance with an aspect ofthe present invention.

FIG. 3 illustratively depicts partitioning of location-based resourcemanagement in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustratively depicts a flow diagram for a location-baseddynamic service in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustratively depicts a flow diagram for location-based dynamicservice attachment in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 illustratively depicts a flow sequence for a server-initiatedcontent push service in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 illustratively depicts a flow sequence of a client-poll-basedcontent push in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 8 illustratively depicts a flow-sequence of a client-initiatedcontent push service in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention.

FIG. 9 illustratively depicts an example of a user interface inaccordance with an aspect of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Additional details associated with some aspects of the presentapplication are described in commonly assigned U.S. patent applicationSer. No. ______ (TELCORDIA App. No. 1537/TELCOR 1.0-007) filed oneven-date herewith and entitled “Method, Apparatus and System For ALocation-Based Uniform Resource Locator,” the disclosure of which ishereby incorporated herein by reference.

FIG. 1 illustratively depicts a system in accordance with an aspect ofthe present invention. As shown, the system 100 includes servers, 110,112 and 114 that comprise an overlay service network 120. The servers110, 112 and 114 are used to manage mobility and content delivery formobile devices in the geographic area illustratively depicted as A.Geographic area A is shown as illustratively comprising the UnitedStates, but may comprise any other country, region or geographiclocality. The mobile unit is illustratively depicted as an automobile126. As the automobile 126 traverses the geographic A, it may request orreceive content information through the servers 110, 112 or 114. Theserver that is used to provide the content information is preferablydetermined based on the location of the mobile unit 126. For example, asthe mobile unit 126 moves within the sub-area denoted by arrows 130 ₁,the server 110 provides gateway access to the mobile unit 126. As themobile unit enters the sub-area 2 serviced by server 112 (see arrows 130₂), access and content delivery is transferred from server 110 to server112. Thus, while in sub-area 2, server 112 manages content delivery andrequests to and from the mobile unit 126. As the mobile unit 126 entersinto sub-area 3 content delivery and requests are then managed by server114. Sub-area 3 is denoted by the arrows 130 ₃. Although FIG. 1 includesonly three servers associated with three geographic sub-areas, thegeographic area may be sub-divided into less or more than threesub-areas based on a variety of factors including business needs, suchas customer demand, investment costs, terrain, which service providercontrols a particular geographic area or sub-area, or the type ofsystems or servers and their associated loading capacity. As isdiscussed in further detail below, each of the servers 110, 112 and 114are preferably connected to an existing network, e.g., Internet or aprivate network, so that information residing on the existing networksmay be provided for the mobile unit as the mobile unit traverses ageographic area.

The servers 110, 112 or 114 preferably act as cache servers of contentsources, as well as gateways between the mobile units and existing orthird party networks. The capability of the servers allow contentinformation from content servers, such as a server associated withhttp://www.cnn.com, for example, to reduce the latency associated withcontent retrieval.

As discussed above, the mobile units communicate with the servers, whichare deployed as part of an overlay service network. The mobile unitpreferably uses a location-based resource locator to identify theappropriate search server in the overlay service network that a requestfrom a mobile unit should be directed to. If content requested by amobile unit is cached in the overlay service network, a connectinggateway server is able to identify a server in the overlay servicenetwork, retrieve the contents from such server and then forward thecontent to the mobile unit. If the requested content is not cached inthe overlay service network, then the gateway server sends a request toa content server in, for example, the existing network or third partynetwork. The information is then routed from the content source in theexisting or third party network to the mobile unit. By caching thecontent information in the overlay network latency in servicing requestsby mobile units may be reduced. The content information may remaincached for a predetermined amount of time or based on the load of thecaching server.

The mobile unit 126 may comprise an automobile as shown. The mobile unitmay also comprise a cellular telephone, a laptop computer, a personaldigital assistant (PDA) or any device that includes a microprocessorthat can access the overlay service network while moving within ageographic area or region and that can determine its geo-location oracquire geo-location information.

The mobile unit, in general, preferably includes a browser, a database,a software program that provides a proxy service and the capability tocommunicate with a global positioning system. Additional detailsassociated with the preferred functional capabilities of the mobileunits are discussed in detail in the aforementioned U.S. app. Ser. No.______ (Telcordia App. No. 1537/TELCOR 1.0-007). The browser, ingeneral, is an application program program that allows a user to look atand interact with information on the World Wide Web or Internet. Thebrowser therefore preferably provides an interface that allows a user torequest content information that may be located on the Internet, anexisting network or third party network. The browser also includes aninterface to the software program that provides a proxy service. Theproxy service software program functions as a location resolver, i.e.,translating the present geographic location of the mobile terminal to anIP address of a server in the overlay service network. The GPS blockupdates the real-time, geographic location or position informationassociated with the mobile device and provides that information to thesoftware program.

As a general matter, a mobile unit may comprise a device that isequipped with a memory for storing the instructions associated with thebrowser software and proxy service software and a processor forexecuting those instructions, as well as an antenna and associatedcircuitry for receiving and processing GPS-related information. Thegateway servers may be implemented on any commercially available serverplatform including Microsoft, Novell or Hewlett Packard platforms.

As discussed above, the overlay service network comprises a plurality ofgeographically scattered servers that are connected to an existingnetwork and provides content delivery and mobility management. Wegenerally refer to the servers as information gateway servers. Eachinformation gateway server has autonomy in managing and hosting highlylocalized content such as local traffic, hotel and restaurantinformation. In addition, each information gateway server is preferablyflexible and adapted to share information with the other informationgateway servers. The use of an overlay service network advantageouslyallows the various aspects of the present invention to be implemented inany carrier and existing network infrastructure. In addition, the systemload may be shared across multiple information gateway servers. Thesystem also allows for an improvement in reliability and resilience totransient failures that may occur.

Turning now to FIG. 2, a system and associated flow diagram is depictedin accordance with an aspect of the present invention. For the purposesof this illustrative example, the system includes a pair of informationgateway servers 204, 208 that comprise an overlay service network 212for managing the mobility and delivery of content information for mobileunit 216. Within the overlay service network 212 are two distinctservice areas 221 (Service Area 1) and 225 (Service Area 2). ServiceArea 1 comprises the primary service area associated with the mobileunit 216. The primary service area is associated with the primary server204. Preferably, the primary server 204 and primary service area aredetermined or selected based on the residence area of the userassociated with the mobile unit. For example, if the user resided in NewYork City, then the primary server comprises a server associated withmanaging that user's mobility, content request and content deliverywithin that service area, e.g., New York City.

The primary server 204 stores profile or preference informationassociated with users registered as residents in the primary servicearea 221. The primary server 204 also stores up-to-date geographicinformation associated with the distribution of the other informationgateway servers, e.g., server 208, that comprise the overlay servicenetwork 212. Thus, when a customer moves out of his/her primaryresidence area, the location of the customer is sent back to his/herprimary information gateway server, which in turn returns an address,preferably an Internet Protocol (IP) address, of an information gatewayserver associated with a geographic area in which the customer iscurrently located and visiting.

In particular, as the mobile unit 216 travels from the primary servicearea 221 to a visited service area 225, the mobile unit 216 transmitsits location (228) to the primary server 204. The primary server 204then transmits the address associated with a gateway information server,such as server 208, based on the location of the mobile unit 216. Thetransmission of the address of server 208 is illustratively depictedusing arrow 232. Once the mobile unit 216 receives the addressinformation associated with the server 208 for the visited service area,i.e., Service Area 2, the mobile unit then attaches to server 208 forrequesting or receiving content information while in Service Area 2.Service Area 1 and 2 are preferably overlapping to some extent so thatthe user may be handed off from one service area to the othertransparently. Thus, as the user changes service areas, the user'sservice is not disrupted. In other words, any content that is beingdelivered is not disrupted because of the change in service areas.Although FIG. 2 illustrates two separate service areas associated withNew York City and Los Angeles, it should be understood that the serviceareas may comprise more than two geographic areas that may bepartitioned based on cost, user demand and other factors discussedabove.

The overlay service network and servers associated therewith preferablyoperate at the upper layers of the 7-layer Open System Interconnectionreference model (OSI model) such that management of user mobility andcontent information may be done transparently to the other layers thatcomprise the OSI reference model. In accordance with the OSI referencemodel, layer 1 is the physical layer, layer 2 is the data link layer,layer 3 is the network layer, layer 4 is the transport layer, layer 5 isthe section layer, layer 6 is the presentation layer and layer 7 is theapplication layer. Accordingly, the details associated with handing offa mobile unit between cells of a cellular network or between differentcellular networks, e.g., from a WLAN to a cellular network or from acellular network to a satellite network, may be done transparently tothe overlay service network since such activity is already managed bythe lower layers of the protocol stack. For example, in the illustrativeexample of FIG. 2, as the user moves from Service Area 1 to Service Area2, the user may be handed off between cell towers, roam from a homecellular network to a foreign cellular network. In this regard, the usermay advantageously receive content information that is location-based orlocation-aware without being required to be at a specific location inthe geographic area. That is, location-based or location-aware servicestypically require that the user be within a specified locality aparticular cell tower or building. This aspect of the present inventionalso advantageously allows users outside a particular geographic area tobe prevented from receiving until they enter that area.

In addition, partitioning of a geographic area into sub-areas andassociating an information gateway server with each sub-area allows achange in the geographic distribution of the information gateways in asingle location to be automatically configured in the primary server andtransparently communicated to the mobile unit. In this way, thepartitioning of the geographic area can be done dynamically andtransparently to each user.

In that regard, FIG. 3 illustratively depicts scheme for managinglocation-based resource information. The particular scheme illustratedin FIG. 3 is based on a Voroni view, although other schemes may be used.In accordance with FIG. 3, each information gateway server may beassociated with a rectangular region that comprises a service area. Inother words, an entire area is partitioned into a plurality ofnon-overlapping sub-rectangular areas and resources are associated witheach sub-rectangular area. When a customer enters a location demarked bya sub-rectangular area, requests to resources associated with thatsub-rectangular area are automatically initiated. Area partitioning andresource association is typically business and customer dependent.

Table 1 illustrates a database scheme used in accordance with an aspectof the present invention. The fields and data identified in Table 1represent the type of information used by the information gatewayservers to manage mobility and deliver content information in accordancewith a further aspect of the present invention. TABLE 1 Field Name DataType ProgramID Number URL Text AccessPriority Number Longitude1 DoubleLatitude1 Double Longitude2 Double Latitude2 Double MediaType NumberTitle Text Content Text BandwidthCapacity Number TimeDuring NumberStatus Text ServerName Text

As Table 1 shows, the database may include a field named Program ID thatis associated with a number data type. The Program ID field identifiesthe sub-rectangular areas or, in general, sub-areas that the geographicregion is partitioned into. Another field included in Table 1 is a URL(Uniform Resource Locator) that is associated with a text data type. Thedata type associated with the URL field preferably comprises alocation-based URL as described above. The Access Priority field isassociated with a number data type.

The database schema also includes longitudinal and latitudinal fieldswhich are represented by the Field Names Longitude 1, Latitude 1,Longitude 2 and Latitude 2. Each of these longitudinal and latitudinalfields are associated with the longitude and latitude coordinates indecimal form. Where a Voroni view is used, each rectangular may berepresented by its upper left-most point and lower right-most point,which allows for efficient implementation in a relational database.

Table 1 also includes fields for the Media Type and Bandwidth Capacityassociated with the delivery network. The Media Type is associated witha number data type information, which preferably represents optical,wire or wireless type media resources. The Bandwidth Capacity field isalso associated with a number, which provides the bandwidth availablefor delivery the content information.

Table 1 also includes entries for title and content. The title isassociated with text data type and will generally refer to the title ofthe content that is being provided. The content field is also associatedwith a textural data type and will generally refer to the type ofinformation being delivered. Such information may comprise text, video,web pages, audio or any combination of the foregoing.

The last two fields in Table 1 are labeled Status and Server Name andare associated with textural data types. The Server Name comprises thename of the gateway server that is servicing a mobile unit at it'srequest.

In practice, an information gateway server periodically receives GPSlocation information from each mobile that it is currently servicing.The server checks the location information it receives against thelatitudinal and longitudinal information associated with the mobile unitand stored in its memory. As long as there is a match between the latestposition information it receives and the position information stored inits local database, the information gateway server provides requestedinformation and initiates transmittal of other data based on theinformation shown on Table 1 and stored in the database. If there is nota match between the position of the mobile and the location informationstored in the server's memory, the server then determines theappropriate sub-area that the mobile unit is currently located in anduses the resources associated with that sub-area to then service themobile unit.

As best seen in FIG. 4, an overlay network may be considered ascomprising an edge 410 and a core 420. The edge 410 preferably comprisesa plurality of geographically disbursed information gateway 424. Thecore comprises one or more information gateway registers 428 and atleast one database 432. The servers that comprise the core of theoverlay service network provide functionalities such as user profilemanagement, authentication, authorization and accounting. The coreservers also preferably perform the function of tracking or maintainingthe geographic distribution of the information gateways that comprisethe edge of the overlay service network. Preferably, each informationgateway 424 registers with an information gateway register 428. Suchregistration may include information such as the servers' IP address andgeographic area of responsibility.

In addition, the core network 420 preferably includes the database 432,which houses or stores the information described above and discussed inrelation to Table 1. Any topological change in the geographicdistribution in the information gateway 424 is captured by theinformation gateway register 428, which then stores the topologicalchange and routes such changes to a database, e.g., database 432.Topological changes may then be distributed to the information gateway424 and to the mobile unit, if desired.

With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, location-based dynamic serviceattachment of a mobile unit traversing a geographical area will now bedescribed. Mobile unit 440 includes a mobile client 510. Mobile client510 is used to receive and store mobile information received from aglobal positioning system, which is illustrated and depicted assatellite 445. The mobile unit 440 preferably includes the necessaryantennas, associated circuitry and software necessary to receivelocation information from the satellite 445. As shown in FIG. 5, themobile client 510 preferably includes a GPS agent 515 that processes thereceived location information. The GPS agent 515 preferably comprisessoftware and associated memory. The mobile client 510 preferablyincludes a media dialog component 517 that processes information relatedto location received from the GPS agent 515. The media dialog component517 preferably comprises software that associates location informationwith an IP address of an information gateway server 424 that the mobileclient 440 is currently using to attach to the overlay service networkbased on the current location of the mobile unit 440. With reference toFIG. 4, this information gateway server is designated as 424 ₁. Theinformation gateway server 424 ₁ may then access an information gatewayregister 428 to determine the next information gateway server thatshould take over content delivery and mobility management associatedwith the mobile unit 440. The information gateway register 428 asillustrated in FIG. 5 may include a GPS manager 538 and a servicelocation database 548. The GPS manager 538 preferably performs thefunction of determining the next service area that the mobile area willmost likely be entering. Such a determination may be implemented usingsoftware and may be based on location information received from themobile unit 440 over a period of time. That is, the GPS locationinformation may be used to predict the next sub-rectangular Voroni areathat the mobile unit 440 will most likely enter. The GPS manager 538 maythen access a service location database to determine the IP address ofthe information gateway server responsible for the next sub-area thatthe mobile unit 440 will be entering. For purposes of this example, thenext information gateway server is illustratively depicted as server 424₂. The information gateway register then returns the address associatedwith the next information gateway server to be used to server 424 ₁. Theserver 424 ₁ then provides the address information to the mobile client510 of the mobile unit 440. The mobile unit 440 may then connect toinformation gateway server 424 ₂ using the address information itreceives.

In addition, the information gateway register 428 may communicate withthe information gateway server 424 ₂ through the core network so thatauthentication, authorization and accounting may take place. Once theinformation gateway server 424 ₂ receives proper authentication andauthorization, it may then also broadcast location-based orlocation-aware information to the mobile unit 440.

In this regard, an aspect of the present invention is the provision of alocation-aware content push service. In accordance with this aspect ofthe present invention, the content push service is characterized by itsautomatic delivery (time-sensitivity), content organization and userprofiles. In particular, content is desirably provided to a user basedon the geo-location of a user's mobile unit and not on the particularnetwork that the user may be attached to or whether the user isproximate with a particular building or structure. In accordance withthis aspect of the present invention, a content location-aware pushservice also desirably separates the push initiator from the pushcontent and is carrier independent. In a highly mobile environment suchas a vehicle, information will typically be location-sensitive. Forexample, real-time highway traffic in Los Angeles is not meaningful todrivers in New Jersey. Because of the separation of the push initiatorfrom the push content and the additional benefit ofcarrier-independence, a user may then receive information based on itscurrent real-time geo-location.

As previously discussed, an aspect of the present invention is theprovision of a location-aware content push service. In this regard, alocation-aware push initiator allows location-sensitive contentinformation to be pushed to customers in specified geographic areas atpre-determined time intervals, while inhibiting access to such contentinformation to customers that are outside of the specified area. Supportof a location-aware content push service typically requires knowledge ofa client's, mobile unit's or user's location. In addition, the manner inwhich content is pushed to the client may have an impact on the carriernetwork.

In accordance with this aspect of the present invention, a push contentmessage comprises three elements: push content source, push content areaand content duration. The push content source, as is discussed infurther detail below, is functionally different and separate from thepush initiator. In accordance with this aspect of the present invention,the separation of the push content source and push initiator representsa departure from traditional content push services in which the pushinitiator and push content source or provider typically comprise thesame functional element or physical structure. The content durationparameter generally refers to the time-to-live or lifetime of thecontent and is indicative of how long the content may be used. Thecontent push area parameter refers to the target area to which the pushcontent will be directed. The data structures illustrated in Table 1 maycomprise the format of a push content message.

Location-based content push services may be considered to include twovariations: (1) server-initiated content push; and (2) client-initiatedcontent push. In a server-initiated content push, a push initiatorpushes content to all the clients in a particular geographic area.Content messages may take the form shown in Table 1. In this regard, thearea may be expressed by the upper left-most point and the lowerright-most point if a Voroni view is used. Upon receipt of the contentpush message, each client checks the message against their currentlocation. If the current location of a client falls within asub-rectangular area specified in the push message, the client may thensend a request to the content source specified in the push message andthereafter receive the content message. FIG. 6 illustrates a flowdiagram associated with a server-initiated push service.

As shown in FIG. 6, a push initiator 610 preferably broadcasts messageto the clients registered on an overlay service network. Upon receipt ofthe push message (line 613), which includes at least informationidentifying a push content source, a push area and content duration asillustrated in block 616, the mobile unit 620 compares informationidentifying the push area with its own geo-location information. Suchgeo-location information may be received from a satellite 622 via a link623. If the mobile unit 620 is located within the push area, the mobileunit 620 then sends a message (line 627) to the push content source 630as identified by the push message 616. The push content source 630 thensends the pushed content information to the mobile unit 620, as shownvia line 637. In addition to using the push area information containedin the push message 616 to determine whether or not to request thepushed content information, the mobile unit may also use the contentduration information in the push message 616 in making such adetermination. In particular, if a content duration specifies aparticular time period and the mobile unit determines that the timeperiod has either passed or not yet come, then it would not request thepush content information as such information would not be expected to beavailable.

A server-initiated content push may be desirable in some circumstancesbecause such a content push may be initiated only when needed andwithout the need to know the location of each client. Further, this typeof service may be carrier dependent and limited in a practical settingwhere security of the network takes precedence. For example, if anetwork provider included a fire wall to prevent unwanted messages orspam from getting to clients on its network, the push messages initiatedby the push initiator may be blocked by the fire wall.

Security concerns, however, may be addressed by using a client-initiatedcontent push service. In such a service, each client or hostperiodically sends its location to a push service. Upon receipt of suchlocation information, the push server checks the location of each clientand returns push content information via the connection established byeach client if the location of a client falls within the target area.The client may the initiate a request for content information through acontent source specified by the push server. A flow diagram of aclient-initiated content push service is illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8.

With reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, the mobile unit 810 initiates theprocess by sending its location information 813 to the push initiator816. (Line 821) As best seen in FIG. 7, line 821 will typically traversea low Local Area Network (LAN), which includes a security parameterdefined by a fire wall server. Upon receipt of the location information813 from the mobile unit 810, the push initiator 816 then sends the pushcontent message 826 to the mobile unit via link 831. As seen in FIG. 7,link 831 preferably traverses the internet and a local area networksimilar to link 821. The mobile unit 810 then uses the push contentmessage 826 to issue a push content request (link 841) to the contentsource at 848 identified by the push content message 826. Periodictransmission of location information by the mobile unit could be costly.Therefore, the transmission of such information may be done periodicallyand implemented in accordance with the system architecture. Aclient-initiated content push service is carrier independent. Both theclient-initiated content push service and a server initiated pushservice may be employed in a complimentary fashion in a network and maybe customized to suit different network environments.

Turning now to FIG. 9, there is illustrated a Graphic Network User (GNU)system that may be employed in a mobile unit. The GNU of FIG. 10comprises the user interface in a prototype system, which we calledMediaDialog. As seen in FIG. 10, a user interface 1000 may displaylongitude 1010 and latitude 1020 information. In addition, the interface1000 may desirably include one or more touch sensitive buttons 1030.Each of these buttons may be used to request location-based informationfrom the mobile unit in accordance with the foregoing discretions. Forexample, by selecting the traffic button 1031, a user may receiveinformation on traffic conditions based on the longitude and latitudeinformation indicated in areas 1010 and 1020. In addition, buttons areprovided for requesting music, video, news and business information. Ingeneral, any information that is currently available over the World WideWeb may be accessed via the user interface.

Although the invention herein has been described with reference toparticular embodiments, it is to be understood that these embodimentsare merely illustrative of the principles and applications of thepresent invention. It is therefore to be understood that numerousmodifications may be made to the illustrative embodiments and that otherarrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

1. A system for providing location-based services, comprising: aplurality of gateway servers distributed over a geographic area suchthat each gateway server is responsible for providing service withinpre-determined areas of the geographic area; and a plurality of mobiledevices that are connectable to the plurality of gateway servers basedon the location within the pre-determined areas of the plurality ofmobile devices.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the pre-determinedareas are formed by partitioning the geographic area intonon-overlapping sub-rectangular areas.
 3. The system of claim 2, whereineach of the plurality of gateway servers is associated with anon-overlapping sub-rectangular area.
 4. The system of claim 3, whereineach gateway server includes a memory cache for storing contentinformation.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of mobiledevices are selected from the group consisting of a cellular telephone,a laptop computer, a pager and a personal digital assistant.
 6. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein each of the gateway servers are coupled toone or more sources for content information associated with thelocation-based services.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein each of thegateway servers automatically deliver content information from one ofthe content sources to the mobile devices within the pre-determinedarea.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the content information that isdelivered includes location information.
 9. The system of claim 7,wherein each mobile device that receives the content informationdetermines whether to accept the content information based on thegeographic location of the mobile device.
 10. A method for providinginformation to a client device over a communication network, comprising:partitioning a geographic area covered by the network into a pluralityof pre-determined services area; associating at least one service serverwith each of the pre-determined service areas; and directing informationto and from the client device through the service server associated withthe pre-determined service area in which the client device is currentlylocated.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein partitioning comprisessegmenting the area in a plurality of non-overlapping rectangularservice areas.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprisingassociating a service server with each of the plurality ofnon-overlapping rectangular service areas.
 13. The method of claim 10,wherein directing comprises associating a primary service server withthe client device based on a residence area associated with the clientdevice.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein directing comprisesassociating a secondary service server with the client device when theclient device is not located within the residence area.
 15. The methodof claim 14, wherein directing comprises routing information destinedfor the client device through the secondary service server when theclient device is not located within the residence area.
 16. The methodof claim 10, further comprising providing information to the clientdevice based on a pre-determined service area in which the client deviceis currently located.
 17. The method of claim 10, further comprisingassociating a plurality of content servers with the plurality ofpre-determined service areas based on the location of the contentservers.
 18. The method of claim 10, further comprising associating eachof the pre-determined service areas with a geographic area.
 19. Themethod of claim 10, further comprising providing at least one server inthe network separate from the service servers for sending contentinformation to the client device.
 20. The method of claim 18, comprisinginhibiting access to the content information based on the location ofthe client device.